by A disabled man refused benefit payments after being told he does not meet the criteria for support said he feels “untrustworthy”.
Chris Burns, 47, who lives in Cornwall, has been struggling to claim welfare support since he became unemployed in July.
Burns told Yahoo News he’s very frustrated to hear that the government could investigate people receiving similar benefits under the upcoming Fraud, Error and Debt Bill – and said the system is already difficult enough. to navigate yourself when you have a disability.
The government announced in Wednesday’s budget that it hopes to recover £4.3bn through the fraud bill, which it says will give the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) powers to directly access claimants’ bank accounts benefits.
Announcing the move, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “I can announce today that we are cracking down on fraud in our welfare system, often the work of criminal gangs.
“We will increase the DWP’s anti-fraud teams using innovative new methods to prevent illegal activity and provide new legal powers to crack down on fraudsters, including direct access to bank accounts to recover debts.”
In July, the DWP’s annual report warned that the £266 billion welfare budget was “a deliberate target for organized crime groups and opportunistic individuals”.
But the move has drawn widespread criticism from campaigners and individuals claiming benefits – which Burns likes, says will put them under more stress and make them feel scapegoated.
‘That’s not what people are living through’
Burns, who has autism, severe leg swelling that affects his mobility, and other cognitive impairments, was forced to leave his job as a kitchen waiter in July this year due to foot problems.
He said: “I feel like I’m being told I can’t be trusted with public money.
“There are a lot of false claims about people trying to live on welfare for free, and it’s not true. That’s not what people are living through.
“In reality, there are so many unclaimed benefits.”
Although Burns is receiving ESA, his claim is currently being appealed so he believes it may only be temporary support.
Seven years ago he was told he could no longer receive personal independence payments (PIP) because he did not meet the threshold, scoring 0 points in his work capacity assessment.
To get the standard rate of PIP, a payment to help with extra living costs if you are disabled, you need to score between 8 and 11 points to get financial support.
‘I felt like I went down a black hole’
Burns said he has struggled financially since then, and finding support through the current system is “terrible”.
“In the last eight months since I had to quit work, I felt like I went down a black hole. It’s very scary when you’re going down and it feels like there’s no way back up again,” he said.
“I used to work as a kitchen porter, but I have severe leg swelling which has put me out of work since July.
“I’ve had foot swelling for about four years, to the point where my foot has shrunk. Because of that, even finding suitable shoes is a nightmare.
“At first I could control it, but then I moved into a new role and they increased my hours a lot. The leg pain got to the point where I couldn’t do a job anymore,” said he.
To get support for his benefits appeal, Burns visits your nearest Citizens Advice bureau every Tuesday – but he said he has to travel for a while.
“It’s 13 miles from my house. It is a great pain, I have to do that, but I have no choice,” he said.
Invasion of rights
Burns’ concerns have been echoed by other disability campaigners, such as DPO Forum England.
The collective voice of deaf and disabled people’s organizations in England said it is “strongly opposed” to the introduction of the bill.
“We strongly oppose the announced anti-fraud measures, which would provide direct access to bank accounts, which are an invasion of the privacy and human rights of people with disabilities,” he said in a statement released the week of the budget.
The Disability Poverty Group said it was frustrated that the government had “re-launched earlier Conservative plans” to pass the bill, which “subjected us to disproportionate and invasive surveillance of our bank accounts”.
“This is despite the fact that Personal Independence Payment, the main social welfare payment for disabled people, has a 0% fraud rate in the latest government statistics,” the group said.
Charities such as Turn2Us have urged the government not to stigmatize language when discussing welfare.
More than 60 organisations, including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Mind, and Amnesty International UK, wrote to Reeves on Tuesday to urge her to oppose stigmatizing narratives about social security ahead of the budget.
Shelley Hopkinson, head of policy and influence at Turn2us, told Yahoo News that the charity welcomed the Chancellor’s acknowledgment of the key role criminal gangs play in benefit fraud, rather than an apathetic focus on individuals who can erode trust.
“Only a small minority of cases commit fraud, but £23 billion is not claimed in support every year,” she said. “Our social security system is a safety net for all of us. We need the government to commit to removing the stigma so that people feel they have the support and confidence to access the help they need.”
The Department for Work and Pensions has been contacted for comment.
